Renting Vs. Owning

This morning I met with a friend of mine (Brad Cowger) at my favorite local coffee shop called The Looney Bean. In the middle of the time together, I excused myself to go to the bathroom. After washing my hands, I used the paper towels to dry my hands off but something happened. A small piece of paper tore off and fell to the floor. Yes ..... the bathrooms at this place are always clean but .... it fell to the floor with all those icky germs and whatever else! It was a bathroom floor!!!

Now, get the context here. I love The Looney Bean!! The owner is great, the employees are great, and the environment is great. And not to mention, the coffee is great too! It's one of my favorite places away from home!

When I saw the piece of paper fall to the floor, I picked it up and threw it away. Something immediately within me said, "If that had been McDonald's, you may not have picked it up because that would be really nasty." But here's the difference: Because I love The Looney Bean, I take care of it. I also care about keeping it up and not leaving a mess.

It's the difference between RENTING a home and OWNING a home. No matter what you say, you tend to take care of something more when it's YOURS! When you are renting, you have an obligation to take care of things, but there's always something inside you that says, "Don't worry about it. The landlord will take care of that."

Now, here's the point. When it comes to your church, are you merely RENTING or are you OWNING it? In other words, do you take responsibility for getting things done or do you sit there and do nothing expecting someone else to do the job? Do you assume that the pastor is going to clean up that mess in the hallway or will you just own it? Do you assume that the worship pastor will clean up all the chords on stage or will you own it? All that junk on the table in the classroom .... do you assume the small groups leader will clean it up or will you own it? When it comes to inviting people to come, do you expect someone else to invite them, or will you own the situation and invite them yourself?

Bill Hybels has been quoted as saying that "The CHURCH is the hope of the world. When it comes to reaching the world, the CHURCH is God's plan A and God doesn't have a plan B." I love the CHURCH and God loves it even more. Let's love it for who God created it to be and what it represents: Our God's love for us.